Here are the proactive ways to prevent dog bites and aggression.
This is such an important step to teach your child! Not only will it be important for them with your own family pet, but even more importantly the skill will translate to them asking permission to touch or pet other dogs as well. This skill could save your child from a nasty bite from an aggressive dog!
Just as you teach your child to avoid other dangerous situations this is no different. They need to know that it’s important.
Be consistent – Don’t allow them to interact without permission and have them ask every time before they pet or touch your dog. This sounds difficult, but if you follow the tips below in keeping them separated as much as possible that will make this step easier.
Chose a simple phrase or word – As your child is very young and may not know how to communicate effectively it can be as simple as a hand signal meaning dog.
Baby sign language is a great way to start. The sign for a dog is to simply pat your leg. You can teach your child to get your attention and then pat their leg. That means they want to interact with the dog. You can then add words to that as their language skills develop.
Use a picture – Another way to teach them how to ask is to take a picture of your child with your dog, laminate it, stick a magnet to the back and hang it on the fridge. This can be a place that they go and point to when they would like to ask permission to interact with the dog.
Any interaction between your dog and your child should be monitored! Being proactive in this step will be extremely helpful in preventing any aggression or poor behaviors developing between your child and dog.
Again not an easy task, but don’t worry we’ll talk about strategies for when you can’t monitor them below.
Here are some important questions to ask yourself before you allow interactions.
The best time for interaction is when your dog and child are both feeling their best and the experience is likely to be a positive one. It’s also important that you are able to be completely present, not distracted by doing other things. In order to have a positive experience, you will need to be aware of subtle cues from both your dog and your child to know when the situation is about to become more volatile and therefore is a good time to end the play session.
Understanding your dogs cues and what they mean is a very important step in keeping interactions between your dog and your child safe.
You will need to get good at noticing the warning signs that your dog is feeling stressed and will need to end the interaction when that happens.
Changing gears and ending a play session with an enthusiastic toddler and their dog be difficult. It will be easier if you explain to your child beforehand that you are going to pay attention to how your dog is feeling so that you can help your dog stay happy. This is also a great skill to teach your child as they grow. This will help them to have a better relationship and stronger bond with each other going forward.
Here are some things to look out for.
Here is a fun chart that can help you and your child better learn how your dog is communicating with you.
(C) by Lili Chin -www.doggiedrawings.net Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/lilita/5652847156/sizes/l/
It’s likely that as a parent of a toddler you already understand the importance of keeping a schedule. Having a schedule for your toddler is key to avoiding meltdowns, having easier naptimes, and making smoother transitions from one activity to the next. For more information about that check out this article about schedules by parents.com.
By following a schedule you can often better predict when your dog and toddler are going to be feeling their best and take advantage of those times for experiencing good interactions together. You can add your dog to your already scheduled playtime. With a schedule, you will have more control and consistency over when the interactions between your dog and toddler take place.
If you have a toddler that is very enthusiastic, loves animals, and wants to be involved in everything your dog is doing this is the key to helping you make your life easier. Giving them specific things they can do to feel important in your dog’s life will help them focus that enthusiasm in the right direction.
This is also a very important tip for families who have a new puppy that your child won’t leave alone! This will get easier as they get older.
2-3 year old’s
Your Child’s most important job at this age is to learn how to touch their pet appropriately. This is the age that they want to pull, squeeze, or prod your dog just to see what they do.
Other age-appropriate helpful tasks could be to help pick out a few toys for their new dog to play with. They could learn to pick up the dog’s toys and hand them to you or put them in a specific place.
They could go with you to take the dog for a walk. You can ask them to show you or older siblings where do we keep our dog’s food or other items. Being able to answer that question will make them feel super helpful and important.
3-5 year old’s
At this age, they are still learning to touch and handle your dog properly. They are able to understand a little more about responsibility and caring for a living animal.
Some age-appropriate tasks for your child may be to feed your dog their food. This is more doable when you have already measured out the amount of food your dog needs then you can help your child pour the food in their dogs bowl. If you have an aggressive eater or very enthusiastic dog this may be a better chore for an older sibling.
Your child can help you take your dog for a walk by holding part of the leash, however they are still too young to have complete control over your dog.
If you have a fenced yard that your dog uses to go to the bathroom your child could help by opening and closing the door to let them in and out. Be sure that you teach your child to tell you that they are doing this so your dog doesn’t leave the dog out in the heat or cold without someone knowing.
5-7 year old’s
When we get to this age range we are out of the toddler years and things should start getting quite a bit easier with regards to your child and your dog. This age is when they can really start to learn more about what it takes to care for an animal and slowly gain more responsibility in helping.
Here is a helpful FREE printable that you can edit and print to give your child a chance to feel important in helping care for your dog. You can laminate or put it in a sheet protector like this. which will allow you to use a dry erase marker to check it off each day. Or you can just print multiple copies.
I don’t know about you, but when I am feeling overwhelmed and cranky I need a calm safe space that I can retreat to. The same is true for your dog and your toddler. Your dog’s safe space should be somewhere that is off-limits for your toddler. Crate training your dog works really well for that.
If you have an older dog here is a good article from Hillpet on how to crate train.
If you have a puppy here is a good article from the AKC on how to crate train a puppy.
This may be difficult at first, but if executed properly can be key to lowering your stress levels when dealing with your toddler and dog. One of the key ways to get that extra buffer of space between your dog and your toddler is to use a double-barrier system. This is where you have an extra buffer of space between your dog and child.
A way to do this would be to use double baby gates. This works good if you have a hallway you can use to implement this strategy.
I took some pictures of a set up that would work in my house. If you don’t have access to two baby gates, or don’t want to spend the money, you can get creative like I did. I used a metal drip pan that I bought years ago to make a magnet board for my kids.
Just make sure if you have a bigger dog, you test it out to see that it will hold up properly without injuring anyone.
Another option would be a crated dog behind a closed door. If your toddler opens the door the dog is still not able to get to your toddler and you have some time to get to your child before they reach the dog. It’s also a great idea to have a calm down area or dog-free zone for your child to play in. If your toddler seems obsessed with your dog then you will need to employ the art of distraction. Finding other things to get keep your toddler’s attention focused on will help them forget about their desire to torture the dog. Also keeping your dog out of their site is important to help them forget about that desire as well.
If your child gets upset when you tell them no they can’t play with the dog, or you expect that it will be a hard transition to limit their time together you can create a calm down corner for them. This will help when they feel upset or frustrated when they can’t interact with the dog the way they are used to.
Not only does this help with emotions related to your dog, but can be super helpful in all aspects of life with your toddler.
Here is a great article from kiddie matter on how to create a calm down corner. You could add a stuffed dog for your child to hold and practice with.
And here is a video about how to set up a calm down corner.
If you have family members or friends that can pitch in for a while to help you with either your dog or your toddler this can be super helpful. As a busy mom myself I know getting a break for even just an hour or two can really impact my ability to press on and have continued patience.
There are a lot of online resources and places to look to get some extra help and support. So many people and other parents have gone through exactly what you are facing right now and have some great input and advice.
Distract the child with an activity
Toddlers and dogs go well together for many reasons. Dogs are energetic and love to play and explore, just as toddlers. It is mostly the reason a toddler is always following the dog. The child simply wants a playmate and fun activity. The issue is, the child may be a bit more energetic and curious than the dog. There are many ways to diverge the child’s attention from the dog. One way is to simply play with the child for a while to tire the toddler out. It will be a fun exercise for both you and the child and be a great bonding. Another way is to simply try to get the child a new toy to play with. Something soft and safe. Or something such as a rattle for the child to be entertained for a bit. The device could be a teddy bear, a squeaky toy, or a toy instrument. Something which makes and noise and is colorful will get the child’s attention.
Here are the best and most helpful resources online!
Sign your Child up for a Class like this one that I teach for kids ages 3-6. This class is on a secure and safe website through Outschool.Com
Tips for Leaving a PUPPY Home ALONE (Puppy Training)
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